The Water War
by Roomie
Summary: Muse makes another trip to Maki's beach house for a nice summer vacation. The girls brainstorm things to do on the beach, and the results end in the biggest water war of the season between the blue team and the purple team.


"Alright blue team. We have an important battle ahead of us, so I want all of you to pay attention to our battle strategy, understood?" Umi's voice was clear and stern as she spoke to the four girls who sat before her.

"Aye aye, Captain!" Honoka and Rin cheered excitedly.

It was summer break for the girls, and at the request (read as: begging) of Honoka and Rin, Maki had gotten permission for the girls to venture back to the vacation house, inviting their former senpai's along on the trip. Yukiho and Alisa had been invited as well, but both girls had decided to have their own summer vacation idol training, and passed on the invite. The nine girls had excitedly journeyed back to the beach house, intending to relax and play in the summer sun.

It wasn't long before they were all brainstorming what to do, and in the end they had been stuck between two games. A water gun fight, or capture the flag. Both games would be crazy competitive, but the promise of a fun time made the group excited. In a burst of excitement, Honoka proposed they combine the two games to create one giant game of capture the flag featuring water guns.

Rules were soon established. There would be two teams (the team with one less member getting a handicap if they requested.) The object of the game was of course to capture the opposing teams flag and bring it safely back to their home base. It seemed simple enough, but there were a few catches.

Everyone would wield a water gun of some sort. There were three types they all had: The smaller water pistols, the bigger water gun, and the giant water canon. The girls who controlled the canons would protect the flag. Anyone who got hit from the canon blast would head back to their base and have a two minute penalty before getting back into the game. All other guns were simply fun water distractions to try to prevent you from getting to the flag. If you successfully captured the flag however, the main goal was to dodge any water blast heading your way. If you were shot by the opposing team, they could claim their flag back and the person who was shot would have another two minute penalty. Anyone who needed to refill their water guns would have to shout "REFILL!" and head to the sea to refill their weapons. Anyone refilling their guns were off limits, and shooting them meant another time penalty. It was also quickly pointed out that there would be no pushing or intentional physical contact, and anyone who did would be forced to sit out for five minutes.

After coming up with the rules, the girls quickly made a name draw for team captains. The first name drawn had been Umi, who would be leading the blue team into battle. Everyone had been on edge for the second name drawn as Umi would be a fearful opponent. Good luck vibes had been wished to anyone who would be the captain against her.

As luck would have it, one of the few girls brave enough to face off against Umi had been drawn. Nozomi smiled wickedly as Umi's gaze met hers, and it was in that moment the other seven girls knew this game would become a life or death competition. Nozomi would be the captain of the purple team, giving them the strength to power against the blue team. Nozomi then stood up and walked over to where Umi stood. The two of them began drawing names, Umi being the lucky girl to get the fifth member.

Before the girls had separated into their teams, Kotori had told them all she had a small surprise. She had "coincidentally" been working on a fun marine themed clothing set, and just so happened to recruit a few people to help her produce them, as a small gift to everyone. The costumes were distributed, and the teams parted from each other, Umi and Nozomi deciding an hour was enough time to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle.

It had been a half hour since then, and Umi had spent the time coming up with a perfect battle strategy while the girls picked out their guns and tried on their outfits. Now they sat attentively listening to Umi and her instructions.

"Try not to waste your ammo right in the beginning. Yes, shooting at our enemies can be amusing, but we have a goal!" Umi slammed her hand on the white board smack on top of a poorly draw purple flag. "To capture that flag! Understood?!" A scary determined glint reflected in her eyes, and the four girls in front of her shouted "YES CAPTAIN!"

"Perfect. Nico, since you're arming the canon, should you run out of water in it, shout immediately for a refill. Maki, it's up to you to fill the buckets and bring them back to Nico. Got it?"

"Eh?! Me?!" Maki questioned. "Rin's faster, the canons would get full faster if she did it!"

"That's precisely why we need her on the offensive. Honoka and I make a great combination, but with Rin's speed, she'll be sure to dodge any water attack coming from our foes."

"Oooh, Umi-chan really thought this out!" Honoka exclaims, Rin nodding her head in agreement.

"So, that's it to our plan then?" Nico said, smirking slightly. "This will be easy, we'll win for sure."

"I wouldn't underestimate them, they've got Eli." Maki adds, catching the attention of everyone as she twirls her hair in her fingers. "Remember back at the arcade when both her and Nozomi were playing air hockey? They were ruthless. I'd hate to imagine what them working together would be like."

"Fair point, Maki." Umi says. She looks to Rin with her determined gaze.

"Rin! Scout our opponents as sneakily as you can. If they question you, tell them that you wanted to ask if they were ready."

"Eh?! Does that mean we're ready?!" she sprung up excitedly, hopping on the tips of her toes.

"I still need to get into my clothes, but yes. We're all set now that we have our game plan. We'll meet you at the beach, understood?" the navy haired girl replies, and Rin grins her cat like grin at her captain.

"Yes ma'am!" She salutes, before bounding off, her water pistol in hand.

After Umi changed, the remaining four gathered their supplies, heading to the beach. Umi and Nico pushed the canon onto the sand together, while Maki and Honoka carried the remaining water guns and their large blue flag. They began setting up their base, deciding to place the canon not too far from the sea, their flag only a few feet away. Nico did a couple test shots excitedly, becoming super pumped for shooting any future targets. This excitement rubbed off on Honoka, and quite soon Maki, and the three of them waited with anticipation for Rin to return. Umi herself kept looking at their base, calculating if everything was set and perfect.

Rin soon arrived, beaming excitedly. Umi beckoned her over with a wave, and the ginger haired girl sprinted over to them.

"RIN-CHAN!" Honoka shouted excitedly, enveloping the younger girl in a hug. Rin laughed, hugging Honoka back before looking at Umi. She lifted her hand in a thumbs up and winked.

"I learnt something!" She said excitedly. Umi was all ears, a smirk of triumph making its way onto her face.

"Well? What is it?"

Rin pulled away from Honoka, and the five girls got into a huddle, putting their arms around each other and heads in the center of the circle.

"Okay so it really isn't much, when I found them they were just talking bout the clothes. But it's kinda unexpected?" She says in a questioning tone, scratching her cheek an glancing to the side. "It looks like Eli-chan is going to be the one in control of their canon. Kotori-chan and Nozomi-chan have pistols, and Kayo-chin has a regular water gun. Not only that, but I guess they don't plan to use any sort of handicap! Crazy, isn't it?!"

The other four shared glances with each other, and Umi frowned.

"Eli on the canon?!" Maki says in a hushed voice. "You'd think she would take the offensive, she's the fastest out of the four of them, is she not?"

"Yeah, but if I'm not mistaken, that Russian monster has some insanely accurate aiming skills. It'd be all up to someone fast to get that flag.." Nico points out, and Honoka nods.

"Kotori-chan is also really sneaky," Honoka says in a quieter voice. "Not to mention if she pulls out her 'please' face, we might as well say good bye to Umi-chan." The four of them stare at their captain, who simply frowns.

"We'll fix that." Umi says sternly. "Honoka, it'll be your job to protect me from any of Kotori's advances. I'll take care of Nozomi."

"What about Kayo-chin?" Rin adds. "Kayo-chin may look innocent, but we can't rule her out!"

"Rin's right." Maki says in agreement. "We can take care of Hanayo together Rin."

"Then our game plan is complete, right?" Nico asks. "Cause I think the purple team has finally decided to show their faces."

The five girls peer over to the beach entrance and sure enough, the four remaining girls had arrived. Eli and Kotori were pushing the canon together, while Nozomi held their weapons. Hanayo simply carried their large purple flag, but gave a small shy wave over to them. Rin was about to wave back, before she spotted Umi's glare. She pulled her hand down, smiling apologetically towards her friend.

Nozomi's team didn't take too long to set up, getting their flag and canon in position quite a distance from the other team. The blue team watched from the distance as they had a quick huddle, obviously going over their battle strategies. The amber eyed girl watched with narrowed eyes, before turning back to her own team.

"Are you all ready?" She asked. A chorus of "Yes!" was heard, and Umi gave a small not of approval.

"Good. Let's fill up our water guns."

The blue team quickly filled and handed out all the guns. Umi, Maki and Rin sported single shooter guns, while Honoka went for the pistols. Honoka and Rin shared an excited grin, before walking back onto the beach.

The purple team soon split, filling up their own guns. Once ready, both Umi and Nozomi made eye contact. Despite the distance between them, sparks and flames seemed to fly between both their hard stares, and Nozomi gave a small mischievous grin. Umi knew it was time, then glanced to her teammates.

"IT'S TIME!" she shouts. "SHOW NO MERCY! THE PURPLE FLAG WILL BE OURS!" Honoka and Rin chorus in a loud cheer.

"HEAR THAT GIRLS?" Nozomi shouts, glancing to her team. "WE WON'T LET THE BLUE TEAM HAVE ALL THE FUN! GIVE IT YOUR ALL!" A couple excited giggles arose from Kotori and Eli, and Hanayo gave a determined nod, her smile not leaving her face.

With that, Nozomi and Umi both glance to each other, before yelling at the same time.

"CHARGE!"

The match had officially begun, and five of the girls began sprinting down the sand towards each other. Umi, Rin and Honoka charged excitedly down the sand towards the purple team, while Nozomi and Kotori couldn't stop ginning as they ran towards the other three. The first shot was made by Honoka, who was only feet away from her taller ash colour haired friend. Kotori squealed as the water made contact with her tummy, and she laughed, shooting Honoka and making contact with her right in the chest.

Nozomi had shot at Umi, who had quickly jumped out of the way. She shot back, missing Nozomi completely. The two got into a battle of shooting and missing, enough where both had to yell refill at the same time. The sprinted to the ocean side, filling their guns up quickly. Soon Honoka was there as well, refilling her guns as quickly as possible. This gave Kotori the advantage, and she ran towards Maki and Nico.

Maki had been prepared, and she ran towards Kotori, shooting at her twice with her gun. Kotori had quickly missed the first stream of water, but the second managed to get her right in the back of her head. She laughed, shooting her own stream of water towards Maki, who yelped when the water came into contact with her exposed stomach.

Meanwhile on the purple teams side, Hanayo was chasing Rin as best as she could, shooting and missing. Rin simply laughed as she kept the chase up, wanting to tire her best friend out and keep her ammo safe. Eli manned her canon, watching closely as Rin kept up the chase.

Soon Umi and Nozomi were back on the battle field, and before she could even spare a single shot, Nozomi aimed right into her chest and gave both her pistols triggers a squeeze. Umi cried out as the water ricocheted off of her clothing and onto her face. Nozomi let out a small laugh before sprinting down the beach towards the blue teams base.

Umi took this as her chance to run towards the other flag, noticing that Rin was simply distracting Hanayo. This left the flag wide open, and with as much speed as she could muster, Umi ran for their flag. Just as she was nearing the bright violet flag, a large blast of water shot at her from the side, catching her by surprise. She glared towards the source, Eli's cunning smirk the only thing she could see. She hunched her shoulders, stomping down the beach towards her base to sit out. Coincidentally, Kotori had tried the same thing and was blasted by Nico, and had been making her way back to the pruple base. Nozomi had been too distracted with Maki and Honoka, unable to even make an attempt to grab the blue flag.

"Come on Nozomi-chan!" Kotori cheered loudly, a bright smile on her face as her and Umi neared each other.

"You're teams doing great Umi-chan!" Kotori compliments, pausing her steps. Umi gives her a small smile.

"Yes, they're all doing their best." She replies. "Your team too." She quickly adds, and the taller girl continues to smile, before heading to her base.

Umi soon reaches her own, resting at the side lines. She glances back down to the purple base, noticing Hanayo's energy had finally been drained to the point where she couldn't keep up with her energetic friend. Both Maki and Nozomi called for a refill, leaving them to run to the water to fill their guns back up. Umi's eyes brightened, and this was Honoka's chance.

"HONOKA!" Umi shouted. "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE! GO GET THE FLAG WITH RIN!"

Honoka beamed over in the direction Umi was, before speeding down the sand. Rin cheered, dodging tiny blasts from Hanayo, who became a bit nervous at Umi's announcement. Eli prepared herself at the canon, watching Honoka and Rin closely.

"I'LL DISTRACT ELI-CHAN!" Rin shouted, running in the canon wielders view as Honoka reached the flag. The blue eyed girl hoisted it up with a laugh, shouting triumphantly

"I GOT IT!"

"GOOD JOB HONOKA!" Umi cheered. "QUICK, HEAD BACK TO NICO!"

But before Honoka could even attempt to, a small blast of water hit her directly in the face, and she was knocked to the ground. Umi's jaw dropped as Rin's gun was held forward, her hands on her trigger and a small apologetic smile on her face.

"GOOD WORK PRIVATE RIN!" Nozomi shouted from the sea, finishing filling her guns and running back into the game. Umi closed her mouth, shooting a glare down to Rin.

"RIN! YOU BETRAYED US!" she shouts angrily, and Rin can feel a nervous sweat on herself.

"T-they caught me sneaking up on them!" She replied. "T-They made me do it! I swear Captain Umi-chan!" Rin replied. "G-General Nozomi was gunna punish me otherwise!" As if to defend herself from Nozomi's wrath, Rin quickly covered her chest. Umi turned her glare back to the purple team leader, who was dodging Maki's blasts with ease.

Honoka walks over to the side, rubbing the spot where the water hit her and laughing lightly.

"It's okay Umi-chan! It's sort of our fault for sending Rin there in the first place." She says, but Umi's glare still rests on her features.

"This means war." She mumbles quietly, and soon both her and Kotori are back on the battle field.

Umi was determined to take Nozomi out, and she spent the majority of the game chasing her down, swearing to get revenge for her team and Rin. Nozomi simply laughed, pointing out that if Umi hadn't been so devilish in the first place, this never would have happened. This fuelled Umi's drive even more. The rest of the girls played, shooting and laughing, enjoying the fun game of chasing each other down and soaking one another. In a coincidental moment, all girls but Nico, Eli, Nozomi were off to the sea to refill their guns. Umi had just been finishing up, and as she finished, Nico had missed Nozomi with a pitiful blast from her canon.

"SHIT!" she shouts. "I NEED A REFILL, QUICK!" She adds desperately.

"GOT IT!" Rin shouts, dropping her guns and running to Nico to grab the empty buckets of water. She was spending the majority of her time trying to make it up to her team (though all had seem to pay no mind to it now, too lost in the fun of it all.)

Umi tightened the cap to her gun and ran back into the field, Just as Nozomi had captured the blue flag for the first time.

"GO NOZOMI-CHAN!" Hanayo and Kotori shout out excitedly as they watched.

But Umi was having none of this. She sprinted after her former upperclassman, aiming her gun directly at Nozomi's back. Nozomi was so close to their base, the purple haired girl could almost see victory right before her eyes. Umi however, was close enough to get a clear shot in. With a triumphant grin, she shot a large blast of water at her. Surprised by the sudden pressure against her back, Nozomi yelped. In her surprise, she had slipped and fallen head first in the sand. Maki and Nico both winced visibly, Honoka and Kotori gasp, and Rin ends up dropping the buckets of water in surprise. Both Hanayo and Eli watch with concern in their gaze, and Umi simply grabs the flag from the fallen girl, a small proud smirk on her face.

"Nice try, Tojo." She remarks, pulling the flag away from her.

Nozomi simply rolled over, her hat falling from atop her head and laying on the sand next to her. The girls filling their water guns had moved closer to the scene, curious to see if the fallen girl was alright. Bits of sand were stuck to her face, and she let out a small, weak cough. She opens her eyes a crack, lifting a hand shakily.

"It looks like I have fallen..." She says in a weak voice. Rin lets out a loud gasp, running over.

"GENERAL!" She cries out, falling to her knees and grabbing her hand. "GENERAL, YOU CAN DO THIS!" she tightens her grip on Nozomi's hand, and Umi looks bewildered at the two. Rin's eyes widen, and she looks around.

"Y-your hand... it's.. it's like ice!" She says, and by now she has attracted the attention of everyone, all of them moving closer. Rin looks up, pain and sorrow on her face as she looks around

"W-We need a doctor! There's a chance she could be saved!" She says exasperatedly, and Nozomi lets out a weak sounding cough.

"P-Private Rin" She says in a weak voice. "I haven't got much time left..!"

Everyone was completely invested except for Nico, who wore the most bland expression on her face. Umi's eyes were watering, unable to believe the scenario going on in front of her.

"D-Don't say things like that! Look! Eli's here!" Rin gestured to Eli, who simply knelt down next to them, a serious expression on her face. "E-Eli-chan! Tell the general she'll be alright!"

Eli said nothing, gently taking Nozomi's other hand. Everyone watching had waited for Eli to speak, expecting a voice of reason and telling Nozomi to stop being so over dramatic over a shot of water hitting her back. Unfortunately, Eli had been swept away in the dramatic scenario, and she gave a small sad smile to the girl in front of her.

"I'll stay with you until your final moments, Nozomi." She said in a broken sounding voice. The fallen warrior smiled back up at her blonde companion, pulling her hand out of Eli's and lifting it "weakly" to touch her cheek. Eli used one of her hands to hold it there, and Nozomi let out another weak laugh.

"I-I'm sorry that these are our final moments together." she said, and Eli simply shook her head.

"W-We had a good run together. I'll cherish all of our memories."

On the side lines, Hanayo and Kotori sniffled loudly, wiping their eyes from stray tears. Honoka watched on, covering her mouth and unable to say a word. Maki herself had a slight frown, and Nico looked beyond done with the scene in front of her.

"For crying out loud, she'll be fine. You're all being over dramatic." She said, crossing her arms. This caught the attention of everyone but Eli, who simply went along with it all and continued to look at her beloved who lay dying in the sand.

"Wow Nico-chan." Maki says bluntly. "One of your best friends is lying on the beach dying and you say she's being over dramatic."

"Oh come on! Don't give me that Maki-chan!" the black haired girl retorts, resulting in a small glare fest between the two of them. Another weak noise from Nozomi grabs their attention, and everyones eyes are back on her.

"E-Everyone," She starts, looking around at all the girls. "I-it was a pleasure to be friends.. w-with.. with you all.." and with that, Nozomi dramatically shut her eyes, her head falling to the side and her arm going limp.

Rin wailed a loud "NOOOOOOOO." Kotori, Hanayo and Honoka shared a small hug, and Eli shut her eyes, a single tear falling from one of them as she continued holding Nozomi's hand to her cheek. Maki and Nico watched quietly, and Umi drops her gun, stumbling backward.

"W-what have I done...?!" She says quietly. "I-I was so blindsided by the task at hand I, I completely forgot that our enemies were.. were our friends!" Umi covers her mouth, shutting her eyes tightly.

"I-I got our flag back but.. at what cost?" She falls to her hands and knees, slamming a fist dramatically into the sand. "WHY WAS I SO BLIND!? I KILLED HER!"

When real heartfelt tears began to stream down Umi's face, the three who were the most dramatic during the scene had realized that they had maybe gone a bit too far. Nozomi cracked open an eye, sitting up and looking over to the younger girl, who hadn't even realized everyone was now paying attention to her. Eli and Nozomi shared a glance, before she picked up one of her water pistols. Eli shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips as Nozomi shot at Umi.

Surprised, Umi fell back onto her bottom, looking around to see who the culprit was. Who would shoot someone who was crying at the loss of their friend!? Upon finding the shooter, her eyes widened and Nozomi let out a small laugh.

"Nozomi..." she mumbled, and Nozomi simply moved closer to the younger girl, grabbing the hat that had fallen off of her head and placing it onto Umi's. She let out a small giggle, and Umi in return smiled, laughing a bit herself.

"I think," Umi began "That I took this game a little too seriously." she blushes a bit ashamed, bowing her head as a small apology. "Sorry Nozomi. Sorry everyone, I may have gotten a little carried away there."

"A little?!" Rin laughs. "You were in it for life or death, Captain!" Umi blushes a bit more embarrassed, and this time Eli let out a soft chuckle.

"Still, it was fun. Right girls?" the blonde turned to the others, who simply grinned and gave sounds of approval.

"It truly was~" Nozomi says. "Why don't we take a small break and go have a snack? Elichi and I brought a couple watermelons that are still at the beach house. We could go cut some up?" She asks, and Honoka beams excitedly.

"That's a GREAT idea!" she shouts. "I'll go grab them!" She begins running towards the beach house, and Rin pushes herself up, shouting that she'd go with Honoka. Worried that the two ginger haired girls might drop and break something, Kotori and Hanayo offered to go with them. Maki volunteered as well, saying that she had brought some juice that they could all drink with the watermelon. Eli decides to rope Nico into tidying up the beach area with her, and the both of them moved to gather all the small guns and flags.

This left Umi and Nozomi sitting comfortably side by side as they watched the two older girls tidying up their toys. Umi glanced to the both of them, before mumbling another small apology. Nozomi let out a small laugh, putting her arm around the younger girl.

"Don't worry about it Umi-chan, it was all fun and games. I took it pretty seriously too." Nozomi reassures. "I think we got you back good with our little skit there." She winks, and Umi lets out a small laugh.

"Yes. You certainly did." The two of them laugh again, Umi leaning into Nozomi and giving her a small side hug of her own.

The girls soon returned, laying out a blanket on the sand and propping up a large beach umbrella. The watermelon had been cut, and all nine girls ate, laughed, and enjoyed the blissful post game snack with each other. It was the perfect way to end an intense game, and all nine of them wouldn't have had it any other way.


End file.
